HitchDaysShort answer
HitchDays is a free iPhone app that counts the days until you're home from a hitch and colors your rotation on a month calendar. HitchDays Pro, $14.99 a year after a 7-day free trial or $2.99 a month, adds the full calendar, sharing, reminders, and more rotations.
About the app
What is HitchDays?
HitchDays is an iPhone app for people who work a rotation, and for the people at home who wait for them. You enter your rotation once and the first screen shows how many days until you're home, the date, and which day of the hitch today is, with your hitch and home days colored on a month calendar. It is free to download, with an optional subscription called HitchDays Pro. It is sold on the App Store by Michael Alcalde.
Is there an Android version of HitchDays?
No. HitchDays is an iPhone app and needs iOS 17 or later. If someone in the family has an Android phone, the rotation calculator on this site works in any browser: enter the same rotation and send them the link it makes.
Rotations and counting
Which rotations does HitchDays handle?
You can start from 14 and 14, 14 and 21, 28 and 28, 7 and 7, 4 on 4 off, or 2 and 1 (two weeks on, one week home), or set your own days on and days off, anywhere from 1 to 120 each, so 21 and 21, 20 and 10, or 8 and 6 all work. There is also a weekly type: pick the weekdays you always have off and, if you have one, a weekday off that moves one day later each week. HitchDays only knows the pattern you enter; it is not connected to your company's roster.
How do I set up a 14/14 rotation in HitchDays?
In setup, pick 14 and 14, say whether today is a work day, a day off, or a crew change, and slide to which day of the stretch today is. That one number places every hitch from then on, so you never have to dig up the date your first hitch started. Later, Edit my schedule shows the First hitch day and a preview of the next 14 days, so you can check where today lands before you save.
My countdown is off by one day. How do I fix it?
Open Edit my schedule from the home screen and move the First hitch day by one. The preview of the next 14 days and the plain sentence under it, for example "Today is a hitch day. Home Tuesday, Oct 13.", change as you move it, so you can see the fix before you save. Most off-by-one counts come from the travel day: decide whether your crew change day is the last hitch day or the first home day, and set the date so it lands there. The guide on counting the days until home walks through it.
What happens when my hitch gets extended or the crew change moves?
HitchDays does not hear about it from your company, so you change it: open Edit my schedule and move the First hitch day until today sits on the right day, or change the days on and off for this hitch and set them back when the normal rotation returns. The countdown, the calendar, and the widget follow the edit at once. If you sent a month picture or added events to Calendar, send or add them again.
Does HitchDays work for a USPS rotating day off?
Partly. The weekly type keeps your fixed day off and a weekday that moves one day later each week, Monday through Saturday. HitchDays counts weeks from Sunday, while postal calendars count the service week from Saturday, so the Saturday in each six-week cycle lands one week later in HitchDays than on a postal color calendar; the other five rotating days line up. Check your Saturdays against your station's calendar. It also does not know holidays, leave, or swapped days. HitchDays is not made by or connected to the Postal Service. The rotating day off guide explains the cycle.
Sharing with family
Can my partner see my rotation on their phone?
Not by syncing: HitchDays has no account and no server, so nothing updates on another phone by itself. Your partner can install HitchDays, enter the same rotation, and pick "I never know when my partner is back", so their countdown reads "They're home in 6 days". That part is free. With HitchDays Pro you can also send a picture of any month, or put your next 12 changes into the iPhone Calendar app. If a crew change moves, each phone needs the new date.
Can I put my rotation in the iPhone Calendar app?
Yes, two ways. With HitchDays Pro, Add to Calendar writes your next 12 changes between hitch and home as all-day events in your default calendar, after you allow write-only access; it cannot read your other events. Without Pro, you can build a repeating event by hand: the iPhone Calendar guide gives the repeat interval for each rotation.
Can I keep track of my partner's rotation instead of my own?
Yes. Answer the setup questions for their rotation and pick the words for the person at home, so the countdown reads "They're home in 6 days" and "They head out in 14 days". Keeping your own rotation and theirs side by side needs a second rotation, which is part of HitchDays Pro.
Widgets and reminders
Is there a countdown widget for the Home Screen?
Yes. The small Home Screen widget with the countdown is free. HitchDays Pro adds a medium widget that also lists your next three changes, and Lock Screen widgets. To add one, touch and hold an empty spot on the Home Screen, tap Edit, then Add Widget, and search for HitchDays.
Will HitchDays remind me before a crew change?
With HitchDays Pro, yes: turn on Evening-before reminders in Settings and you get a notification at 6 pm the evening before each of your next 12 changes. The reminders are scheduled on the iPhone, so they arrive without signal. They stay off until you turn them on.
Privacy and working offline
Does HitchDays work with no signal on the rig or offshore?
Yes. Every date is worked out on the iPhone, so the countdown, the month calendar, the widgets, and the reminders all work in airplane mode. The app goes online only to check or buy HitchDays Pro through Apple.
Does HitchDays need an account? Where is my rotation stored?
There is no account and no login. Your rotation and settings are stored on your iPhone and included in your iCloud or computer backup. The only thing that leaves the phone is subscription information, which RevenueCat records under a random, anonymous ID. The privacy policy lists exactly what is sent.
I got a new iPhone. How do I get my rotation back?
If you restored the new iPhone from an iCloud or computer backup, your rotation is already there. If you set it up as a new phone, enter the rotation again, which takes about a minute, and tap Restore Purchases in Settings if you have HitchDays Pro.
HitchDays Pro and billing
How much does HitchDays Pro cost?
HitchDays Pro Yearly is $14.99 a year and starts with a 7-day free trial. HitchDays Pro Monthly is $2.99 a month with no trial. Both renew automatically until you cancel, at least 24 hours before the period ends, in your iPhone settings. Prices are in US dollars; the App Store shows your local price before you confirm. The pricing page lists what each plan includes.
How do I cancel HitchDays Pro?
On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, then HitchDays, then Cancel Subscription. Cancel at least 24 hours before the trial or the current period ends to avoid the next charge. Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription.
What happens to my rotations if I stop paying for Pro?
You keep them. The countdown, this week and next on the calendar, and the small widget keep working on the free tier, and any extra rotations you made stay in the app where you can still view and delete them. The parts that need Pro, like the full month and the month pictures, go back behind their locks.
Still stuck?
Email jayalcalde93@gmail.com. A person reads it and replies, usually the same day. The support page covers restoring purchases and fixing a countdown step by step.